Homeland Security Investigations officials are concerned about a ‘dramatic’ increase in scammers targeting non-citizens and the elderly.
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officials are warning people to be on the lookout for scammers posing as agents with their agency.
In an attempt to defraud people, these scammers are posing as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and threatening arrest, deportation — or both.
The phone scams are nothing new, but officials said these criminals have become more sophisticated, and the number of calls has recently increased.
Raymond Villanueva is the Special Agent in Charge for HSI in Washington, D.C. His office has had at least five of these scam calls reported in the last week. He suspects many others have gone unreported.
“We’re not a collection agency and we never call people to ask for money in lieu of an arrest,” said Villanueva.
Officials are concerned that the criminals have been able to spoof real Homeland Security telephone numbers, making the calls seem legitimate.
